Death of a Salesman
Another 40 pages in, we've now progressed from act one to act two. At the climax of act one, we finally see the tension between Biff and Willy explode as the two get into a heated argument. Act two opens with Willy asking his boss Howard, who Willy claims to have named when his father ran the company, if he has a position that would no longer require him to go to Boston so often. Howard takes this as an opportunity instead to fire Willy saying, "I think you need a good long rest, Willy" (63). We also find out that Willy had been borrowing money from his friend Charley, a successful business man, yet he's too prideful to accept a job form Charley. Starting to increase in magnitude and significance are the flashbacks that Willy sees in real time. When he wanders into Charley, it is due to the fact that he was engaged in another conversation with his brother Ben about going to Alaska, one that occurred years before.
The reason that these scenes where past mixes with present work in this play is partially due to the stage setup and the stage directions. This is the first play that I've ever payed very close attention to what's going on onstage, and not just what the characters are saying. The stage is set up so that the house is the main focal point of what's going on onstage. Those acting in the present enter and exit through the doors of the house like in real life. However, during those scenes where Willy starts to see flashbacks happening at the same time as the present, the characters from the past enter through the front of the house, where there isn't a wall. For example, during the first time that young Biff and Happy are introduced, "Willy is gradually addressing--physically--a point offstage," and "Biff and Happy appear from the direction Willy was addressing"(16, 17). For the rest of the play then, I just look for hints like that when I'm confused as to what is current and what is a flashback of Willy's. Below is a sample stage for clarification:
Another interesting aspect of the stage directions that I have enjoyed is the music. Each scene has a different music description that varies depending on the characters and the mood of the scene. For instance, at the start of act two, "Music is heard, gay and bright," which is appropriate because Willy is waking up to a new and optimistic day. I am sure that there is some symbolism going on here, especially since it seems as though some characters have corresponding music to them and some don't. Every time Ben enters, his music comes on. However, I'm in no current position to draw conclusions on what's happening, but I'm sure this thought will come up again in future blog posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment